Mechanism for actuating work-supports.



G. A. AMBLER.

MECHANISM FOR AUTUATING WORK SUPPORTS.

' APPLIUATION FILED DEC. 20, 1907.

Patented Jan.2,1912.

2 SHEETSS HEET 1.

VV/T/VESSE (Mar/44M F1 3} W's G. A. AMB'LER. MECHANISM FOR AGTUATINGWORK SUPPORTS.

APPLIOATION FILED 13170.20, 1907.

Patented J an. 2, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

STATES PATENT OFFTC,

GEORGE A. AMBLER, OF WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOEMACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MECHANISM FOR ACTUATING WORK-SUPPORTS.

I Original application filed October 26, 1906, Serial N 0. 340,707.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. AMBLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Winchester, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth ofMassachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Mechanisms forActuating Work-Supports, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likereference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in theseveral figures.

This invention relates to mechanisms for actuating work supports, such,for example, as those used in boot and shoe machinery.

The invention relates particularly to work support actuating mechanismhaving especialutility in a machine for inserting fastenings.

In those fastening inserting machines which insert fasteningssuccessively provision is usually made for feeding over the work supportbetween successive inserting operations the work upon which the machineis operating. Tofacilitate the feeding of the work, which is usuallyclamped during the inserting operation between the work support and awork abutment surrounding the point at which the fastening is driven,means is usually provided for unclamping the work after each insertingoperation. In some constructions the work support is caused to hold thework normally clamped against the work abutment by the action of astrong spring which is arranged to hold the work support yieldingly inits uppermost position, release of the work for feeding being effectedautomatically through connections with the main operating shaft,comprising usually a work thickness compensating clutch, which causesthe work to be forced down a predetermined distance against the actionof the clamping spring after each fastening inserting operation. Inother constructions the worksupport presses the work normally againstthe work abutment with a light yielding pressure, and connections withthe main shaft are provided, which also comprise usually a workthickness compensating clutch, for automatically clamping the workagainst the work abutment just before each fastening is driven.

Each of the foregoing types of work sup- Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Jan. v2, 1912. Divided and this application filed DecemberSerial No. 407,326.

port actuating mechanism is of especial utility in certain classes ofmachines, its utility in each class of machines being dependent upon thenature of the fastening to be inserted, the nature of the work to beoperated upon and the method of driving. A third type of work supportactuating mechanism, combining the principal advantages of the two typesabove mentioned and presenting in addition many novel improvements inconstruction and operation, has been disclosed in my co-pendingapplication for Letters Patent on improvements in machines for insertingfastenings, Serial No. 393,477, filed September 18, 1907 and upon thislast mentioned type the present invention is an improvement.

An object of the present invention is to provide, in a work supportactuating mechanism having a clutch in the connections between theoperating shaft and work support for moving the support away from thework abutment to unclamp the work and another clutch in said connectionsfor moving the support toward the work abutment to clamp the work, meansfor simultaneously and preferably positively releasing said clutcheswhereby the work support may be brought automatically intowork-receiving position.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a work supportactuating mechanism which operates to move the support both into workclamping posit-ion and into work releasing position, compensatingclutches which will compensate for every variation in the thickness ofthe work both in the clamping and the releasing operations wherebyuniformity of clamping pressure upon the work and uniformity ofreleasing movement of the work may be insured.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a machine having aconstantly operating shaft, mechanism for causing a work support to bebrought into position to hold the work for the operation of the machineand then to cause to be connected with the constantly operating shaftmeans for effecting, first, a work clamping and then a work releasingaction of the work support during each cycle of operations of themachine.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention is hereinillustrated as embodied in a machine of the type disclosed in LettersPatent No. 1,005,920, granted Oct. 17, 1911, the present applicationbeing a division of the application for said Letters Patent.

For detailed description of features of the construction hereinillustrated but which constitute no part of the present invention,reference may be had to said original application above referred to.

It will be noted from the following description that the illustratedembodiment of the invention comprises also novel features ofconstruction and operation, to which attention has not been specificallydirected in the foregoing statements but for which protection will besought in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a side elevation of the upperpart of the machine shown in the application of which this applicationis a division. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the standard upon which themachine head shown in Fig. 1 is supported, this view showing in detailthe work support actuating mechanism. Fig. 3 is a detail view on alarger scale of the two clutches constituting a part of the operatingconnections between the main shaft and the work support.

Referring to the drawings, 12 is the standard of the machine which hasmounted upon it a head or frame 14 carrying in suitable bearings adriving shaft 16 on which are mounted fast and loose pulleys 18 and 20and a hand-wheel 22 by which the shaft may be turned over slowly by theoperator when desired.

Upon the main shaft 16 is mounted a cam disk 176 having upon the righthand side, as viewed in Fig. 1, a cam designed to control the movementin one direction of a lever 66 pivoted-at one end upon the machine heada'nd connected by a rod 7 2 to a second lever 74 also pivoted upon themachine head. The rod 7 2 is connected to the lever 66 at a point moreremote from its pivot than the part which cooperates with the cam uponthe cam disk 176. In the fastening inserting machine in which thisinvention is shown as embodied the main shaft 16 is intended to be keptnormally in operation and the arrangement of the cam disk 176, the lever66 and the parts controlled by said disk and lever is such that thevarious mechanisms which take part in the fastening inserting operationwill be thrown into operation and out of operation at the proper times,so that the said mechanisms will not become inoperative after havingbeen actuated to insert a fastening until the fastening inserting cycleis completed. The lever 74 is connected by a rod 75 and other suitableconnections, hereinafter to be described, to a treadle 267.

The work into which the fastening is to be driven is supported upon anorn H which is carried, for reciprocatory movement to ward and from thework abutment surround ing the point at which fastenings are inserted bythe inserting mechanism, upon the upper end of a rod 220 slidablymounted in the standard 12. The horn is controlled by suitable mechanismwhich causes it to clamp the work against the work abutment just beforea fastening is inserted and to release the work for the work feedingopera tion, which, in the present machine, is effected by means of anawl, just after the fastening has been inserted. The mechanism forraising and depressing the horn and to which the present invention isparticularly directed, is shown as comprising a rocking frame 212mounted upon a sleeve 214 surrounding a pivot pin 216 in a fork of thestandard 12. The rocking frame 212 is of forked construction, andbetween the two like side members is mounted to oscillate freely on thesleeve 214 an angle lever 218 pivotally connected at one end to the rod220 which supports the horn H. At its other end the angle lever 218 hasa bearing surface 222 concentric with the center of pivot pin 216. Uponthe surface 222 bear hardened rollers 224, 226, to the reducedprojecting ends of which are attached springs 228 and 230, respectively.The springs, of which there is one at each end of each roller, tend tokeep the rollers normally apart. Springs 228 are attached at their outerends to adjusting members 232 capable of adjustment through the standard12 by means of nuts 234 engaging the screwthreaded ends of the members232 projecting through the standard. Springs 230 are connected to pins236 upon the rocking frame 212. The reduced ends of the rollers 224, 226travel in slots 238 in the rocking frame 212, these slots being alsosubstantially concentric with the center of pivot pin 216. Plates 240attached to the sides of rocking frame 212 and projecting into the slots238 and over the ends of the rollers keep the rollers from endwisemovement. The remaining members of the two clutches of which the bearingsurface 222 and the rollers 224, 226 are parts are constituted by camblocks 242, 244, adjustably mounted in recesses in the upper part of theframe 212 directly. over the bearing surface 222 and which bear inalternation upon the respective rollers 224, 226 when the rollers are inoperative position. The cam surfaces of the cam blocks are so arrangedthat one block tends to lock the corresponding roller against thebearing surface 222 when the rocking frame rocks in one directionthereby forming a clutch to complete the connection between the horn Hand the main driving shaft 16, and the other block operates in a similarmanner upon its roller when the frame rocks in the other direction. Itis thus apparent that when the rocking frame 212 rocks toward the righthand in Fig. 3 the block 244 will look its roller 226 against thebearing surface 222 on the angle lever 218, its position upon thesurface 222 being dependent upon the thickness of the work clampedbetween the horn H and the work abutment, and the angle lever will berocked with the frame 212 and will depress the horn H. Likewise whenframe 212 rocks toward the left in Fig. 3, the angle lever 218, throughblock 242 and roller 224, will be rocked in the other direction and willraise the horn, the point upon the surface 222 at which the roller 224is locked to it being also dependent upon the thickness of the work. Theamount of upward and downward movement of the horn H can be varied bymeans of adjustable stops 246, 248, carried by arms 250, 252, attachedto the standard 12, which stops limit the outward movement of rollers224, 226, and thus determine the points in the movement of the rockingframe 212 at which the angle lever 218 is locked to it. The frame 212 isrocked continuously while the main shaft 16 is running.

Rocking of the frame 212 is effected through the following connections:A roll 254 upon the upper end of rod 258 engages in a cam groove 256 inone side of the cam disk 176. The rod 258 is reciprocated in guides 260at each revolution of the cam disk 176 and through its connection 262with the rocking frame 212 gives to the rocking frame a rocking motion.

Inasmuch as the main shaft 16 is normally in operation, in order topermit work to be removed from or placed upon the work support mechanismmust be provided for preventing the operation of the clutches whichserve to complete the connections be tween the horn H and the main shaft16. This mechanism, in the construction shown, comprises means forforcing the rollers 224, 226 away from the blocks 242, 244, to preventthe locking-of the angle lever 218 to the rocking frame 212. Theillustrated means comprises a member 264 forked at its upper end andclamped at its lower end between two plates 266 upon the treadle 267which afford provision for vertical adjustment of the member 264. Eachof the fork members at its upper end is provided with an inclined offsetportion 268 extending along the slot 238 in frame 212. Extending atright angles to the offset portion 268 are lugs 270 having inclinededges adapted to engage the reduced ends of the .rollers and force themtogether. In order that the movement of the lugs 270 may be at rightangles to the path of the rollers, the fork members are each providedwith an inclined slot 272 engaging a pin 274 in the standard.

The treadle 267 is normally drawn up by a spring 276. lVhen the treadleis in its raised position the lugs 270 are forced into contact with thereduced portions of the rollers 224, 226 and the rollers are thus heldout of locking contact with the cam blocks 242, 244. The rod is drawndown to elevate the lever 66 for starting the insertion of fastenings bymeans of a lever 277 pivoted upon the base of the machine and having aslot 278 eccentric to the pivot, said slot having a bend in it at280.for a purpose hereinafter specified. Slot 278 receives a pin 282 onthe rod 75. The lever 277 is connected to the treadle 267 by a link 284.Link 284 is connected to the lever 277 by an eccentric pin 286 whichprovides an adjustment between the lever 277 and the treadle 267. Rod 75 is confined in a guideway 288.

When the treadle is depressed for starting the insertion of fastenings,the rollers 224, 226 are freed from contact wit-h the lugs 270 by thedownward movement of the memher 264 and the horn actuating mechanism isthus rendered operative. At the same time the lever 277 is rotatedtoward the left in Fig. 2 drawing down the od 75 by means of the pin andslot connection therewith, thereby raising the lever 66 and renderingoperative the mechanism for inserting fastenings. YVhen the treadle isreleased its movement into its upper position is controlled by the camupon the right hand side of the cam disk 17 6 acting through the lever66. The particular features of this control relate to the completion ofthe fastening inserting cycle of operations and therefore constitute nopart of the present invention.

It will be sufficient for the purposes of this application to state thatif the treadle is released at a certain stage of the fastening insertingcycle of operations the lever 66 will not drop at once to its lowestposi tion but will only drop far enough to permit the treadle to rotatethe lever 277 about its pivot toward the right in Fig. 2 until the bend280 of the slot 278 engages the pin 282 upon the rod 75. This movementof the treadle 267 is not sufficient to bring the lugs 270 intooperative contact with the re duced ends of rollers 224, 226 and thusthe horn actuating mechanism is not rendered inoperative at this time.\Vhen the lever'66 drops to its lowest position it permits the rod 75 torise far enough so that the treadle 267 may come back to its uppermostposition, during which it rotates the lever 277 until the pin 282 is inthe lower part of the slot 278. v

In order that the thickness of the work may be properly gaged for theaction of the two work thickness compensating clutches, means isprovided for causing the work support to hold the work with a lightyielding pressure against the Work abutment during the short timeintervening between the action of the clutch which causes the worksupport to clamp the work for the fastening inserting operation and theaction of the clutch which causes the work support to release the workfor the work feeding operation. In the illustrated embodiment of theinvention the means which causes the horn to tend normally to press thework against the work abutment is brought into operation as the treadleis depressed to start the insertion of fastenings and to set inoperation the work support actuating mechanism. When the treadle is inits raised position the horn is permitted to drop in order that it maybe in convenient position to receive work or to permit of the removal ofthe work, and in this position it is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

A cushioning and counterbalancing spring 290 supported in a socket 291in the machine frame and bearing at its other end against a collar uponthe rod 220 serves to counterbalance partially the weight of the hornand its attached parts and to prevent shocks to the mechanism from thecontact of the horn with the frame. The spring 290 is, however, notstrong enough to support the horn in its elevated position.

Loosely mounted in a bracket 294 extending from the underside of themachine frame is a stud 296 carrying at each end a lever 298. Each ofsaid levers 298 is provided with a rearwardly extending arm 300 having acam surface and a forwardly extending arm 302 having a downturnedrecessed end. Two springs 304, secured at one end in any convenientmanner to swing with the levers 298 and resting in recesses in the arms302, extend forwardly and may be caused to engage a pin 306 at the lowerend of the rod 220 so as to sustain the horn with a light yieldingpressure. Cam rolls 308 on each side of the treadle 267 engagerespectively the cam surfaces on the arms 300. The treadle is maintainednormally in its elevated position by the spring 276 and is shown in thisposition in Fig. 2. When the treadle is depressed from the positionshown in Fig. 2, the cam rolls 308 bearing upon the arms 300 rock thelevers 298 upwardly and cause the springs 304 to bear against the pin306 to press the horn lightly against the underside of the work whichhas been placed by the operator in contact with the foot plate. Themechanism for initially raising the horn just described is substantiallythe same as that illustrated in the co-pending application of Louis A.Casgrain, Serial No. 222,022, filed August 24, 1904, to which referencemay be had for a more detailed description and illustration.

The operation of the various parts of the Work support raising andactuating mechanisms have been described in connection with theforegoing detailed description of these parts and it will therefore besufficient at this point to briefly set forth the operation of theconstruction as a whole. The parts being in the position shown in Fig.2, the operator depresses the treadle 267. During the first part of thedownward movement of the treadle 267, the levers 298 are rocked aboutthe stud 296 and the springs 304 are brought into engagement with thepin 306 at the lower end of the rod 220, thus causing the horn H tobring the work supported upon it int-o contact with the work abutment.This movement oftlie rod 220 and the horn H rocks the angle lever 218about its pivot, the amount of rocking movement imparted to the anglelever 218 depending upon the thickness of the work between the upper endof the horn and the work abutment. Further depression of the treadle 267causes the member 264 to move its lugs 27 0 out of engagement with thereduced ends of the rollers 224, 226, and the rollers are thus permittedto be clutched alternately between the cam blocks 242, 244 upon therocking frame 212 which has been constantly in motion, and the surface222 upon the angle lever 218. The points upon the surface 222 at whichthe rollers 224 and 226 will be clutched respectively to said surfacehave been determined by the rocking of the angle lever 218 about itspivot as the horn has been moved upwardly by the springs 304. The hornwill now be moved up into clamping position by the clutching of theroller 224 between the block 242 and the surface 222 and will be moveddownward into work releasing position by the clutching of the roller 226between the block 244 and the surface 222 with each complete oscillationof the rocking frame 212. The successive points upon the surface 222 atwhich the rollers 224 and 226 will be clutched to said surface willobviously depend upon the thickness of the work which is fed between theend of the horn and the work abutment during the work feeding operationand while the horn is in releasing position. Between the unclutching ofthe roller 224 from, and the clutching of the roller 226 to, the surface222 there will be a slight interval during which the horn will adjustitself to the thickness of the work under the action of the springs 304and the angle lever 218 will be moved into such position that itssurface 222 will be engaged by the roller 226 I at the proper point togive the desired predetermined amount of releasing movement to the work.In like manner during the time which will intervene between theunclutching of the roller 226 from the surface 222 and the clutching ofthe roller 224 to said surface the horn will again be permitted toadjust itself to the thickness of the work, in case there has been anyvaria- 'tion, and the angle lever will be moved into such position thatits surface 222 will be in proper position to cause the desiredpredetermined amount of clamping pressure to be exerted upon the work.During the last part of the downward movement of the treadle 267 thelever 277 will be rocked toward the left in Fig. 2 until the pin 282upon the rod 75 is brought into the upper part of the slot 278 and therod 75 is thus drawn down causing the lever 66 to be elevated, therebysetting in operation the fastening inserting mechanism. hen the treadleis released the various mechanisms will be thrown out of operation inreverse order.

It will be noted that the provision of rollers for locking together tworelatively movable parts of the connections between the work support andthe operating shaft permits an exact adjustment of these connections tocompensate for every variation in the thickness of the work both inpreparation for the work clamping movement of the work support and inpreparation for its work releasing movement. Uniformity of thesemovements in successive operations is thereby insured. It will be notedfurther that the positions of the rollers with respect to the relativelymovable parts between which they are situated may be independentlyvaried whereby the amount of work clamping movement of the work supportmay be varied without affecting the amount of work releasing movement ofsaid support and vice versa.

The term roller as used in the appended claims is not intended to berestricted in its application to a cylindrical rolling body.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is 2- 1. In a machine of theclass described the combination with a work support and automatic meansfor moving said work support into work clamping and then into workreleasing position, comprising oppositely operating clutches, of meansfor simultaneously rendering said clutches inoperative while a part ofsaid automatic means continues to operate.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a worksupport and automatic means for moving said work support into workclamping and then into work releasing position, comprising oppositelyoperating clutches, of a single means for rendering said clutchesinoperative while part of said automatic means continues to operate.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a worksupport and automatic means for moving said work support into workclamping and then into work releasing position, comprising oppositelyoperating clutches, of a single means for moving member of each of saidclutches positively into inoperative position.

4:. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a worksupport, of automatic means for moving said work support into workclamping position and then into work releasing position, comprisingoppositely operating work thickness compensating clutches, and means forsimultaneously rendering said clutches inoperative while a part of saidautomatic means continues to operate.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination with aconstantly operating shaft, a work support and automatic means formoving said work support into work clamping and then into work releasingposition, comprising oppositely operating clutches, of means forinterrupting the action of said clutches while said shaft continues inoperation whereby the movement of the work support is also interrupted.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination with aconstantly rotating shaft, a work support and operating connectionsbetween said shaft and said work support for automatically reciprocatingsaid support, comprising oppositely operating clutches, of means forholding members of said clutches out of operative relation to othermembers of said clutches while the shaft continues to rotate whereby theactuation of the work support may be interrupted.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination with aconstantly operating shaft and a work support, of means for bringingsaid work support into operative connection with said shaft, comprisingoppositely operating clutches arranged to operate in automaticsuccession, portions of which are in constant connection with saidshaft, and means under the control of the operator for causing otherportions of said clutches to be brought into or out of operativerelation to the constantly moving portions.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination with aconstantly rotating shaft and a work support, of means for moving saidwork support into work clamping position and then into work releasingposition, comprising connections between the rotating shaft and the worksupport including a plurality of rollers situated between rela tivelymovable parts of the connections and so arranged with respect to saidrelatively movable parts that one roller locks said parts together tocause the work support to be moved into work clamping position andanother roller locks said parts together to cause the work support to bemoved into work releasing position.

9. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with a work support, of mechanism for actuating said worksupport, comprising relatively movable members one of which hasoppositely inclined faces, rollers interposed between said relativelymovable members and so arranged with respect thereto that one of saidrollers cooperates with one of said faces to eifect a locking togetherof said members for movement in one direction and that another rollercooperates with another face to effect a locking together of saidmembers for movement in another direction.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a worksupport and Work support actuating mechanism, comprising means :toreifecting positively a work clamping movement of said Work support andmeans for eilecting positively a work releasing movement of said Worksupport, said means being constructed and arranged to operate inautomatic succession, of means two means while a part of said mechanismcontinues to operate.

11. In a machine of the class described, the combination With a worksupport and automatic means for moving said work sup port into workclamping and then into work releasing position, comprising oppositelyoperating clutches, of a treadle yieldingly held normally in inoperativeposition, and means controlled by said treadle for simultaneouslyrendering said clutches inoperative as the treadle returns fromoperative to inoperative position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE A. AMBLER.

Witnesses:

H. DORSEY SPENCER, FREDERICK L. EDMANDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

